


catastrophe

by allechant



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:47:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24405277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allechant/pseuds/allechant
Summary: she had a feeling this whole "pretend to be in a relationship" thing wasn't going to end well.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru/Tachibana Izumi
Comments: 24
Kudos: 104





	1. Chapter 1

It all started when Izumi decided she wanted to go to South Korea.

Why? There was no real reason. One day, she found herself thinking about going on a nice vacation and South Korea just popped into her mind.

She tried not to think too much about going overseas. She was MANKAI Company’s director and she had _responsibilities_. But it didn’t help when her email kept getting flooded with advertisements from tour companies offering really attractive package deals. One night, it was two in the morning, she was tired, she was kind of hungry, she received a well-timed email and the next thing she knew she had clicked on the ad.

 _No. No, no. No._ But her hand seemed disconnected from her brain and she just stared at her screen as she looked through the different images of what Seoul had to offer – hanboks! Jeju Island! Snacks and souvenirs! Nice scenery! A break from her work!

The next day she spoke to each of the troupe leaders and asked if they would mind if she went on a short holiday. None of them raised any objection, and there weren’t any plays coming up _soon_ , so this was the best time to go on vacation if she wanted to. In fact, they all seemed to _want_ her to take a break.

She felt a little bad. But yeah, maybe it was time she took some time off for herself. She had some concerns about travelling though. Izumi didn’t want to go with a tour, which meant she’d have to sort out her flight, accommodation and itinerary.

Food shouldn’t be a problem. Seoul looked like it had lots of things to eat. She was curious about kimchi. She’d never tried it before. Maybe it would make an interesting addition to one of her curry recipes? She’d have to give it a try.

She reminded herself to search for a place to stay, preferably with a kitchen. She’d like to still have curry when she was overseas, and there was no guarantee that she would be able to find any _good_ curry in Seoul.

Another problem she considered was the language barrier. She didn’t know any Korean at all – well, besides _annyeonghaseyo_ and _gamsahabnida_ , or however you pronounced those. She was pretty sure two phrases wouldn’t be enough for her to communicate with anyone. But maybe she could scrape by with the help of Google Translate.

Nevertheless, after she booked her flight and found some affordable lodging – yes, with a kitchen! – the next thing she did was go to a nearby bookstore and purchase a guidebook for Seoul and a basic Korean language book.

That was where Itaru found her, sitting on the sofa and staring at her language book, trying to memorise basic phrases. Like how to ask for directions to the nearest restroom.

“What’s that?” He flopped onto the sofa beside her, his gaze focused on his mobile game. Izumi didn’t look up from her reading.

“Um, I’m trying to learn some basic Korean. I don’t want to get stuck in Seoul not knowing how to speak to anyone,” she mumbled, the words on the page beginning to blur together. She never did have a head for languages, and this book was not helping in the slightest.

“Oh? Korean isn’t super difficult.” Itaru was jabbing his finger furiously against his screen. She didn’t want to know what he was doing. “I can teach you if you want.”

She blinked, looking up at that. “Wait. _You_ know Korean? How come?”

“I used to play this Korean game. Had to pick up a little to understand what my party members were saying.” Itaru stopped poking his screen, then held his phone out to her. “Hey, pull for me, will you? I want this new SSR card.”

She sighed but reached over and tapped the button anyway – ten little boxes appeared on the screen and started to shake. Itaru skipped the animation and stared at his screen, studying the results. “Oh wow, Director, your gacha luck is pretty good. See? She looks just like you.” He showed her the screen again.

It wasn’t the first time she had seen Itaru’s favourite in-game girl. She still failed to see the resemblance. “Uh. I guess?”

“I’m going to make her my main page character.” She stared at Itaru fiddling with his phone for a while before she suddenly remembered what they were talking about.

“Wait, wait. You know Korean!” She repeated this just to be certain, and Itaru nodded absentmindedly. “And you’re willing to teach me?”

“Well, yeah. You just want to know some basic Korean, right?” he asked.

“Just enough to ask for help if I get lost. Or ask for recommendations, maybe.” She glanced at her language book again and promptly shut it. Nope, not helping at all.

“Sure.” Itaru suddenly put down his phone, and she blinked, taken aback when he met her gaze. “I just have one favour to ask, though. It’s not difficult or anything,” he added, noticing the way she hesitated. “But you’re the only one who can help me.”

“What do you need?” Fine. If he was going to teach her Korean, then helping him out was the least she could do.

Itaru smiled. She wasn’t sure whether he did it intentionally or not, but this was his _princely_ smile and while it was undeniably charming, she suddenly had a really bad feeling about it.

“There’s going to be a company dinner on Friday, and I’ve exhausted all my excuses, so I’ll have to show up this time. I was hoping you’d go with me.”

“Me?” She immediately panicked at the thought – she remembered the last time she stumbled across Itaru at one of his company events, surrounded by a whole bunch of women. The moment he saw her, he pounced on her and used her as an excuse to not go for karaoke with them – the way those women glared at her still left a bad taste in her mouth. “Itaru, the last time your colleagues saw me, they looked like they wanted to kill me.”

“You’ll be fine! I promise!” he wheedled. “If I bring a date, they’ll get off my back and I can go home earlier. And I’ll help you with your Korean. It’s a win-win!”

She found herself a little swayed by the desperation in his eyes. It was the first time she’d seen him so emotional…if she didn’t count him yelling at his screen whenever he lost one of his games. “It’s just one night, right? No more after that?”

“No more after that,” he affirmed. She paused, considering her options – her trip to Korea was in a month. She had seen the way Itaru tutored the other boys and she knew he was a good teacher – he could probably drill some basic phrases into even _her_ language-resistant brain. And all she had to do was pretend to be his girlfriend.

“You know I’m not a great actress, though…” she cautioned. “What if I give it away and the others find out that we’re not really together or anything?”

“Don’t worry. I won’t say that you’re my girlfriend, so it’ll be totally up to their interpretation.” Itaru smiled. “Unless you _want_ to be my girlfriend?”

She felt her face flame. “No!” she blurted out, waving her hands in front of her. His grin just widened. “I mean, not that you’d make a bad boyfriend or something, but no!”

“I was just kidding, Director. You know, you’re cute when you’re flustered.” Itaru leant back into the sofa, stretching. He kind of reminded her of a cat. “So, you’re okay with the plan, right? Keep your Friday evening free then. It’s a date.”

Her face was still warm. “You don’t have to say it that way,” she protested.

“But I want to.” He laughed at the look on her face and she pouted, wishing he’d stop being amused at her expense. “Anyway, I’ll hold up my end of the bargain. You want to start learning some Korean now?”

She nodded. If Itaru was offering, then they might as well – after all, it was rare that he didn’t immediately slip into his room after returning from work.

He reached for her book on the table, his fingers just barely grazing her hand, and she shivered – when he flipped to a random page, his dark blond bangs falling over his forehead, she couldn’t help but think about how _good-looking_ he was.

That time she saw him at his company event, he had been so charming, his dazzling smile reminding her of the first time she ever met this man. But she liked him best when he was relaxed like this, and not wearing his public persona. After finding out what Itaru was like in private, it was hard to take his work image seriously.

He glanced up from the page and caught her eye, his lips curving into another lazy smile, and she quickly averted her gaze, pressing the back of her hand against her cheek. Yep, still warm. How was he so good at getting under her skin?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i seriously think itaru would be the kind to pick up a new language just to get OP at a game.............
> 
> am not sure if i should continue because omg i just needed to get this out of my head


	2. Chapter 2

Izumi was nervous. She smoothed down the fabric of the dress she wore and patted her hair, hoping that her hairstyle wouldn’t fall apart halfway through the dinner.

“LOL Director, you need to stop freaking out.” Itaru prodded his screen a few more times before he slipped his phone in his pocket, reaching for her. “C’mon. It’ll be over soon.”

She squeaked as he slid his arm across her shoulders, tugging her closer to him. The scent of his cologne wafted all around her and she couldn’t help but inhale – she had no idea what brand of cologne he used, but it sure smelled good. “I still don’t understand why you need me to pretend to be your girlfriend or something,” she said, though she didn’t try to shake his arm off. “Can’t you just lie and say you’re already seeing someone?”

“I did, but I think they’ll only be convinced when they actually see it for themselves.” Itaru had flagged down a taxi, and now the two of them clambered into the car, Izumi painfully conscious of how small their space was. Since when were taxis this cramped?

“They’re that stubborn?” she asked, and Itaru shrugged, his fingers reaching for his phone. But then he paused and glanced at her, and he shifted his hand away.

He told the driver the address and Izumi self-consciously smoothed down her hair again. When Itaru told her the location of his company dinner, she had almost spat out her drink. Maybe it shouldn’t be surprising since his company was so prestigious – she guessed such a workplace would be more than willing to splurge on their employees – but still.

His company dinner was held at a fancy restaurant that, if not for Itaru’s request, she never would have dreamed of setting foot in. The night before she had looked at the menu and she noticed with trepidation that they _didn’t list any prices_. And, based on a few unfortunate past experiences, she was pretty sure that meant the food would be disturbingly expensive.

“Aren’t you going to play your game?” Itaru still had yet to take out his phone. She was half-expecting him to just lean into his seat and ignore her for the rest of the ride.

“Hmm.” He considered, and she found herself watching him, studying his profile as the dim evening light streamed through the car window. He was wearing one of his office suits, and while it wasn’t the first time she had seen him dressed up, it was different when they were attending a dinner and she was going as his partner, pretend date or not. “Since you were kind enough to help me out, I guess I shouldn’t ignore you on the way there…”

She rolled her eyes. “Such generosity,” she answered, but a tiny part of her was grateful that he decided not to ditch her. Her stomach was churning and she could remember with vivid clarity the looks of irritation, almost _anger_ , that Itaru’s colleagues had given her before.

In hindsight, maybe she should have put her foot down and rejected his idea. It probably would have been less painful to learn Korean on her own. “What, you think I’m stingy?” he asked. His monotone delivery made it difficult to tell if he was genuinely offended or not. “You helped me get that SSR card I was trying to pull. I know when to repay my debts.”

She would never be able to understand his priorities. “Okay, sure,” she sighed, glancing out of the window. Her fingers gripped the material of her dress, an attempt to stop herself from biting her nails. A few moments later, she felt something touch her and she turned to see Itaru’s hand sliding over hers. He was pleasantly warm, and she felt her face flush.

“Itaru!” Her voice came out squeaky, and he shot her a look, his pretty pink eyes narrowing slightly. She didn’t know if she should shake him off – his touch _did_ feel nice, and she was admittedly grateful for the distraction.

“You look sick.” His straightforward observation flustered her – was she that obvious? “Scared?” And for a moment she wondered if it was too late to back out, but he looked like he was legitimately concerned and anyway she didn’t want to stop the car now, so she just sighed again and flipped her hand over, allowing his fingers to slip between hers.

“A little,” she confessed. “I mean…I don’t know what to expect, I guess. I’ve never been in a situation like this. And you know I’m no good at acting! I’ll give everything away!” she fretted.

“Then maybe you should stop thinking that you’re acting,” he suggested. She stared at him, her lips parting in surprise, but his expression was perfectly serious.

“We’re not dating though,” she finally said after a long, drawn-out pause.

“We could be,” he countered, and she had to wonder if he truly expected her to nod and go along with his suggestion. It was bad enough that she agreed to attend this dinner. _This_ was – she wasn't even sure how to describe it. “If I _had_ to date someone, Director, I wouldn’t mind being with you.”

“You make it sound like I’m some kind of last resort…” She didn’t want to address what he said. Maybe she was reading too much into his words.

“I didn’t say that.” He laughed – it was a quiet sound, but she was embarrassed still, and she did her best to avoid looking at him. “Anyway, no matter how crappy you feel later, think about the fact that I’m with you. We can suffer through this together.”

“Way to make me feel better, Itaru.” But she _was_ somewhat entertained by his grin and she squeezed his hand, silently expressing her thanks. His grin softened into a smile and for a moment, she was entranced by his gaze – then she quickly turned away, looking out of the window again. She wondered if they were going to reach their destination soon.

They continued to sit in silence, though to her surprise Itaru didn’t take his phone out, not even once. She wasn’t aware of how much time passed before their driver finally pulled up outside the restaurant. They climbed out of the car, and she stared at the entrance of the building – two women were being escorted inside, and when she looked at the outfits they wore she suddenly thought that she might be underdressed for the occasion.

This was the nicest dress she owned, and she kept it mostly because it had _pockets_ , but she knew it wasn’t an elegant cocktail dress or anything – it was just slightly more formal than her typical day-to-day clothes. But she hadn’t wanted to splurge on a dress she’d only wear once, especially not for something as frivolous as a pretend date. Still. She couldn’t help but think that maybe she ought to have invested a little. She felt immensely out of place.

A part of her mind grumbled about how unfair it was that men could just wear a suit and look perfectly presentable while women were faced with a whole myriad of options that made it so _hard_ to decide what was appropriate. “Quit zoning out. Let’s get this over and done with,” Itaru said, and before she knew it he had linked his arm through hers and he was pulling her to the entrance, ignoring her mumbled protests as she dragged her feet behind him.

It was a surreal experience. The host identified them and quickly showed them the way to their seats, and the moment they entered the function room she swore everyone’s heads turned to stare at them – okay, so probably not everyone, but she could feel the _weight_ of numerous eyes upon her, and it made her extremely uncomfortable.

Itaru had switched into his public persona – they sat at their assigned table, and she just watched in awe as he smiled and laughed, chatting with the colleagues who approached him to say hello. Quite a few of them were women, she noticed, and they eyed her with expressions that ranged from mild curiosity to outright annoyance. She tried not to look at any of them, hoping that she wouldn't draw too much attention to herself.

Though she supposed that coming here with Itaru was already attention-grabbing enough in itself. It was so _strange_ to see Itaru behaving like an absolute charmer. She was too used to him walking around the dorm in his old jacket and worn sweatpants, his bangs tied up so they’d stay out of his eyes. Sometimes she forgot he had a life outside the dorm.

“So, Itaru! Who’s this with you? Your sister?” One of the women finally asked the dreaded question, and she stiffened, trying to keep a smile plastered on her face. She hoped he’d just go along with that idea. Siblings were fine, right? She was Itaru’s little sister, and she came to this dinner because she was curious about his job. It sounded believable.

“Oh, no. She’s my girlfriend,” Itaru answered, and she felt her heart stop as his soft, gentle voice registered in her head – her first instinct was to jump out of her chair and stubbornly refute his claim, but then she met his gaze and she swallowed. He was smiling, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Didn’t I tell you all I was seeing someone? Her name is Izumi.”

“A girlfriend?” Surprise flitted through the woman’s eyes, then she turned and studied her, her gaze raking her up and down. She wrinkled her nose. “You must be joking. She’s your sister, right? I mean, why would you be with someone as plain as her?”

Izumi wasn’t sure if she ought to feel offended or not. It wasn’t like she was going out with Itaru, so she didn’t care much about what other people said – but was she _plain_? Really? Now that was kind of hurtful. She thought about whether his colleague’s jibe was worth responding to, but then Itaru opened his mouth.

“That’s not very nice of you.” His voice was calm, but she thought she saw a little gleam in his eyes. It was an unfamiliar look, and it was intense – far more intense than what she was used to seeing from Itaru. “Izumi, don’t listen to her, okay? She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

It took her a second to realise that first, he had called her name, and second, he had _kind_ of spoken up for her? “Uh…” What did he expect her to say? The woman was just staring at her, her expression filled with shock, and Itaru was giving her that placid princely smile – for once she wanted to place her hands on his shoulders and shake that smile off his face. Why did he have to force her into such an awkward situation? “I…um…it’s okay?” she finally said.

She wanted to cringe at herself, but thankfully the woman _hmphed_ and turned away, walking back to her table. Izumi glared at Itaru. “You said you wouldn’t claim that I’m your girlfriend! You were going to leave it up to your colleagues to figure out who I was!” she hissed, keeping her voice down.

“I thought it’d be the easiest way to get them off my back,” he mumbled, leaning in so that no one would overhear their conversation. She felt his breath ghost against her ear and she shivered, her skin suddenly hypersensitive. “I almost said you were my fiancée, okay. I only didn’t because I figured you’d freak out on the spot and spoil the whole act.”

Act. Act. Right. This was an act. She wasn’t _really_ dating Itaru or anything. Right. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “Fine,” she whispered. “I’ll pretend to be your girlfriend since you already told your co-workers we’re a couple. But I don’t think I can act –”

“Chigasaki!” Another one of his colleagues wandered over with a half-empty glass in hand, his face flushed. Itaru instantly withdrew, his practised smile snapping back into place, and she had to admire the ease with which he settled into his role. “It's the first time I’ve seen you join one of these events in months!” he boomed, and Izumi fidgeted as the man’s voice carried, drawing the attention of the people around them.

She had expected _some_ level of attention, but this was too much. How did Itaru put up with this every day? No wonder he was always tired when he returned from work. “Ah, our boss made me promise to be here,” Itaru answered, and it was only because they had lived in the same dorm for so long that she even noticed his eyebrow twitch; a subtle sign of irritation.

The man grinned. “I guess even you can’t defy the old man!” he guffawed, and Izumi hoped he would leave soon. He was too loud, and he smelled of alcohol already. Wasn’t it too early to be getting drunk? “And you even brought your girlfriend! Uh, what’s your name?”

“Izumi. It’s nice to meet one of Itaru’s colleagues.” She forced a smile on her face, gingerly shaking the man’s hand. It was slightly damp, and she felt the immediate urge to wipe her palm against her dress. “Do you two work together often?” she asked.

Small talk, just enough to seem polite. She didn’t want Itaru’s co-workers to think that his girlfriend was rude or snobbish. “Yes, we’ve worked together on a few portfolios. He has a real head for numbers, this one.” The man downed the rest of his drink. “Well, I should go back to my seat! It’s going to be a _long_ evening.” He waggled his eyebrows and finally left.

“I can see that,” Itaru mumbled, his façade slipping for just a fraction of a second before he looked up at her and smiled. “They should be bringing the food out soon. So, the plan now,” he leant in again and she tried not to think about how close their lips were, “is that we eat our food, then we claim we have after-dinner activities planned and get the hell out of here. That’s fine, right? I mean…unless you want to stay?”

“No, I don’t want to stay,” she whispered back, her gaze flitting nervously around the function room – there were still some jealous looks being thrown her way, and she felt like if she hung around for too long, she’d shrivel up under the weight of those stares.

“Good. I had no intention of lingering for any longer than absolutely necessary.” He paused. “Actually, as long as I can prove to my boss that I showed up tonight, technically I can leave afterwards…”

“Why did your boss force you to come, though?” she asked. “You have an excuse for pretty much any situation. Couldn’t you make up an emergency or something?”

Itaru exhaled. “My boss pulled me into his office to talk about my team's dynamics. He kept going on about _social currency_ and its importance in workplace cohesion…well, long story short, if I don’t show up tonight it’ll affect my chances of promotion, so there.”

“Let me guess. You want to get promoted so you have more money to spend on…um, other things.” She looked around, careful not to bring up Itaru’s gaming habits outside the dorm.

He nodded. “If not I’d stay at home. Banri said his new game was supposed to arrive today. I was looking forward to that.” He pouted, and she caught herself thinking about how cute he looked – she shook her head, trying to snap out of it. Now was not the time to be distracted by Itaru’s good looks. “Something wrong?” he asked, noticing her strange behaviour.

“No! Nothing!” She was spared from having to say anything more by the sound of a voice blaring through the speakers. They turned towards the stage at the front of the function room, where a woman stood, holding onto a microphone.

The emcee called for everyone’s attention and went quickly through the programme for the night, before inviting the company's chairman onstage to speak. As applause rang out around her, she peeked at Itaru – he was watching the stage with a smile on his face, clapping along with everyone else, but she held no doubt that he’d rather be anywhere else.

She wondered how long he could last before telling her he had to take a toilet break, where he’d then spend the next five minutes or so catching up on his mobile games. She bet he wouldn’t last even fifteen minutes in this place before sneaking away.

Or maybe she should have more faith in him. After all, he did this all the time. Every single day during work hours, Itaru painted the image of the reliable, charming model employee. Maybe she was underestimating him, and he was more than capable of resisting the allure of the washroom. Maybe _she_ would be the first to take a break from all this –

“Toilet break,” Itaru suddenly said, rising from his chair. He smiled at their group and shot her a wink before he headed out of the function room, and she gaped at his retreating back.

And here she had been thinking about giving him the benefit of the doubt, thinking he would be able to prove her wrong for once. Itaru hadn’t even lasted five minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk i thought the first chapter wasn't enough but im still exploring itaru as a character and im not quite confident in writing him yet - idw to promise anything so im just going to mark this as complete for now LOL

**Author's Note:**

> yell at me on [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/dontenchantme)


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